Apple TV Mark 2?

Lots of talk about the perceived "failure" of the Apple TV typified by posts like this from Macworld.

There's probably some truth in that, especially following Steve Jobs pronouncement at the D Conference that the Apple TV was "a hobby" for Apple. That's a pretty off the wall statement to make about one of your own products and most definitely not an off the cuff remark. A classic case of misdirection I believe.

I've been using the Apple TV since it was released and it has the potential to be a killer device. The current plus points include:

• It's always on and there when I need it.
• It syncs pretty transparently.
• The UI is brilliant and so simple to use.
• YouTube support is something I never thought I'd use but it's pretty compelling

But there have been downsides:

• Due to the lack of availability of material on the iTunes store (here in the UK at least), I've had to rely mainly on Podcasts and material sourced from elsewhere.
• Invariably, most external content requires conversion and is time consuming and unwieldy.
• Even if more content were available, I can't buy from the iTunes store directly from the Apple TV
• If I want to play a DVD I have to rip it first - again time consuming and unwieldy
• Lack of support for external storage even though a USB port is built into the device.

One of the problems with the Apple TV Mark 1 was the timing of its introduction. Originally announced back in September 2006, launched at Macworld 2007 and finally released in April of 2007, the Apple TV has had to play second fiddle to both the iPhone and Leopard for most of 2007. As we know, scarce resources were diverted from the Leopard team across to the iPhone team in the middle of the year and since then Leopard has probably taken up most of Apples development time. So I think the Apple TV has suffered through lack of attention.

So understandably, many people have switched from the Apple TV to the Mac Mini as their home entertainment hub.

The Mac Mini provides a much more flexible option which removes the hassle and limitations of the Apple TV:

• Hook up a 500GB external USB drive
• support for a gazillion codecs so everything will play on it - no conversion required
• a DVD drive so you can watch your existing movies straight away
• Direct support for PVR such as EyeTV so you can use it as a VCR replacement
• Not forgetting it's a fully featured Mac so you can do everything that you can on a Mac - browsing, burning, you name it
• Add in a software package like Remote Buddy and control your Mac Mini from your Apple remote

Not forgetting of course that Leopard now includes FrontRow, the Apple TV interface.

So what's next for the Apple TV Mark 2?

Not withstanding the PVR capabilities (as I'm sure that Apple don't want you to record TV, they want you to buy from iTunes) I'm confident we'll see a new Apple TV at Macworld based on the Mac Mini form factor including an Optical drive. Things that would re-energise the Apple TV would be:

• The capability to playback existing DVD media (plus HD-DVD or Bluray?)
• The availability of HD material from the iTunes store
• The ability to buy video content from iTunes directly from the Apple TV
• The introduction of Movie rentals within the iTunes store
• The ability to extend the storage via an external drive
• The introduction of new capabilities to enable access to the other functions of the Mac OS via the Apple remote - simplified browsing, access other Macs on the network, etc.
• A tweak to enable the Apple remote to control the TV Volume

If we get really fanciful, how about some other cool features such as:

• Integration with Back To My Mac so you can access your Apple TV content from anywhere
• Integration with the iPhone or iPod touch to create the killer remote control
• Built in streaming from the Apple TV to the iPhone or iPod touch (as already demonstrated by the EyeTV)

Perhaps the new Apple TV will in fact be a new TV, the fabled Apple flat panel TV with a Mac Mini built right inside.

Well it won't be long until we find out what Apples strategy is moving the platform forward, but rest assured, it's certainly not a hobby for them!

Technorati Tags:
Apple TV, Leopard, Macworld 2008

Comments

[Dave M.]

I'll probably never buy an Apple TV, but will continue to use my MacBook as an Apple TV for now and when I can afford it, will buy a Mac Mini to take the place of the notebook.

As you said, there is no support for recording with Apple TV and will probably never since Apple wants to sell you content instead of recording content. I have a wireless keyboard and mouse accessible in the living room so that I can use the computer when I need to, otherwise I use my Logitech universal remote to access my MacBook along with all the rest of my entertainment system so I don't have to get up to watch content on my MacBook when I want to.

One thing that really surprised me when the Apple TV first came out was the lack of HD content at the iTunes Store. Why am I going to hook up an Apple TV that "requires" an HD television so that I can watch 480p content? That just doesn't make any sense.

Plus, if I have content that is 480p (or worse 240p from way back when TV content was first introduced), I want the ability to "upgrade" the content to HD when it becomes available. It doesn't appear that Apple will be doing this. I don't have a problem paying an amount of money to do this, not a lot, but some.

Something I am hoping and praying for are rentals for both movies and their TV shows. I would pay money for the ability to "rent" an episode of a TV show, and would have no problem at all renting a movie. There are quite a few movies that I don't want to buy due to the lack of the special features that DVD's have. However, I still want to watch them. Renting them solves this problem for me easily. It sucks that we have to wait until February to be able to do this, assuming that rentals are in the works.

As for an Apple HD TV with a Mac Mini built in... That would be pretty awesome assuming that the price is right, of course. :)

[TV Movies Soaps » Apple]

[...] Don added an interesting post today on Apple TV Mark 2?Here’s a small readingThe availability of HD material from the iTunes store; The ability to buy video content from iTunes directly from the Apple TV; The introduction of Movie rentals within the iTunes store; The ability to extend the storage via an external … [...]

[Robert B]

I hope and expect that you're right about an AppleTV role in the Jobs keynote. A rental service for TV shows and movies, perhaps with an option to buy at a discount, should be a hit. Content has hit a snag with the media barons fearful of Apple and clueless in their pursuit of failed alternatives. It continues to amaze me how pervasive greed blinds such powerful moguls. We may have to wait until their likely failure finally dawns on them before Apple is free to set the pace in digital distribution.

Id like to see Apple combine the mini and TV boxes, even expand the range of potential low priced boxes and options. Then, they might morph the TV software to run on any Mac. It would enable those with older Macs to extend their usefulness; but it could enable Apple to sell the cheaper boxes to corporations. Their lack of the best Intel chips could enhibit their threat to iMac sales while keeping their price low.

What if Apple supported Google's bandwidth purchase and they used it to distribute TV and video on demand? By distributing through PCs and cell phones Google's focused ads might work to enable fewer, but targeted ads in support of the streaming content. This would enable options in distribution costs with ties to the iTunes store. It could also open up the cable network compeition to new, more focused content.

[Dave]

I too use a Mac Mini on my TV. I've not bothered to hook it to my my Mini. Frankly with upwards of 50% commercials who cares! I am not motivated to configure my computer as a traditional tv. Apple could buy "elgato" and integrate "eyetv" into every Mac. It would probably cost a couple of dollars per system.

Due to the "commercial" abuse, I like to watch DVDs. Hollywood thinks we all want BlueRay quality and beyond—BS. I want a simple and easy access my current video library. (At $40 for two adults and child for tickets, popcorn and a Coke I just buy DVDs.) Since anyone with kids knows the frustration of searching for a particular movie only to find an empty jacket if find my 750GB drive a blessing. Thank you Handbrake!

Making movies is getting cheaper and cheaper. Apple WILL leverage iTunes with independent film makers. Podcasting and YouTube is but the tip of the iceberg. Serious talent abounds and quality, alternative content is rapidly approaching.

After one or two blockbusters from the "little guys" Hollywood will finally answer Apple's wake-up-call. Jobs knows that he is in the driver's seat with AppleTV... he is just taking the cautious route, giving the "big studios" a chance to buy in now. Once Hollywood shuns him, then he has license to proceed at will.

[Constable Odo]

You hit the nail on the head. The MacMini can do it all. All Apple would have to do is supply some decent outputs. Optical audio, HDMI and RCA or S-Video. My MacMini is hooked up to my HDTV and using either MPlayerX or VLC it can do it all. I have a lot of subbed movies that I watch. I don't need a large hard drive on mine since it's wirelessly hooked to my Extreme Base Station n's Airport Drive and my FW800 MDD with about a terabyte of storage. The MacMini is great. A modified MacMini would make a great AppleTV 2.0.

I have a Plextor ConvertX w/tuner hooked to the MacMini and my HD-PVR and I also have a Elgato Turbo.264 that can convert videos to mp4 files at warp-speed.

[Dave M.]

Odo: I use Front Row to access all my video content and don't have any problem. Of course, I have Perian installed so that Quicktime can play all the codecs that are typically out there.

Also, the Mac Mini does have optical audio output as well as input, just like the MacBook. I currently have an DVI-HDMI cable connected to get the video digitally to my HDTV and use the optical connection to my receiver for the digital audio. When I find HD content on the web, it plays better than any other device I have connected to my home entertainment system. The MacBook can output 1920x1080 so displaying 1080p HD is a piece of cake.

I would assume that the Mac Mini can do the same since the hardware is pretty close to the same. I haven't tried it thought. The only Mac Mini I have any access to is in my parents house as their primary computer.

I have always wanted to play with the Elgato eyeTV devices, but I just don't want to spend the money to find out if they will work well for me. Since I have a Series 3 TiVo, I really don't need another device capable of recording TV right now. I can download videos off my TiVo to my Mac using TiVoDecode Manager, so unless I need to record 3 shows at once, I'm OK with recorders.

[Steve K.]

AppleTV DVR sofware?

IT WILL NEVER EVER HAPPEN!!!!

[Henrik S.]

I gave it a lot of thought whether I should buy an Apple TV or a Mac mini. I ended up buying the Apple TV because of a number of reasons:

- It appeals more to the rest of my family than a Mac mini, because it’s so easy to use
- No fan
- No startup time
- I don’t really want to control a computer on a big screen far away, and I don’t really want a keyboard and a mouse on my coffee table

I find myself playing a lot more music than before, because I don’t have to dig out the CD between hundreds of others, especially finding those burned from iTunes was a challenge.

My personal list of needed improvements is:

- Support for multi channel sound – why this is not included is beyond my understanding
- Search function in the music library – it’s crazy having to scroll through thousands of titles
- Access to iTunes directly from Apple TV – my iPod touch can do it, why can’t my Apple TV do it?
- Let me use iPod touch for remote control via wireless network – that way I don’t have to turn on the TV to listen to music
- Build in Safari web browser – controlled via Apple remote/iPod touch
- Support for external storage
- On the fly creation of play lists

If we also had some (HD) video content on the European iTunes music stores, I wouldn’t want buy a HD-DVD or Blue Ray player.

By the way: it’s funny no one has thought of letting the iMac become the next generation Apple TV: how about a 40-inch iMac for home theater system?

[Chuck]

Don,

Big fan of your site. Keep up the great work.

I'm wondering if you have any new thoughts on the Apple TV Mark 2 after yesterday's keynote from Jobs. I gotta say I was a little disappointed since the main feature I was looking for was DVR capabilities.

But the new Apple TV announcement did make one thing simpler for me: I'll be buying the Tivo HD today.

On that topic, is it possible to get the free and member SCO shows delivered to TivoCast. That would be incredible.

Thanks
Chuck

[Don]

Thanks Chuck!

I was a bit surprised that there wasn't a hardware revision but thinking about it, the original ATV already supported HD, digital audio and networking so why would they need to revise it. Delighted that the current AppleTV will be upgraded via a software upgrade.

DVR was never going to happen but there are plenty of third party apps and devices that will fulfil that role.

As regards TiVoCast - no idea? Would need to do some research unless you can point me in the direction of some information.